The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice
The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice
The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice
Navya Narayanan

Navya Narayanan, News Editor, Webmaster

Navya Narayanan (Class of 2027) joined The Voice her sophomore year. Outside of journalism, she enjoys listening to music and spending time with her two dogs.

All content by Navya Narayanan
Mamahuhu features a colorful, calming and zen-filled atmosphere with modern yet classy furniture. Beyond the food, general manager Ariel Mahon said her favorite part of working at Mamahuhu is meeting the diverse range of customers and students who stop by. “It's really great having Stanford nearby," Mahon said. "We get a lot of international students. I love being able to meet people from all over the world.” 

Review: Flavor meets comfort at Mamahuhu

Navya Narayanan and William Xue
October 30, 2025

Spirit Week 2025 Timeline

Navya Narayanan, News Editor, Webmaster
October 28, 2025
Junior winners Zoe Quinlan and Elif Dogan bask in Spirit Week glory after winning the last 'best-dressed' contest today during brunch on the Quad at Palo Alto High School. According to Quinlan, she is glad the junior class won. "I feel amazing about the win and we're doing great," Quinlan said.

Juniors victorious in last ‘best-dressed’ competition

Navya Narayanan and Julia Curtis
October 17, 2025
Seniors and sophomores go head-to-head in a relay race during the Wednesday Spirit Week rally at lunch on the Palo Alto High School Viking Stadium. According to sophomore participant Jordan Johnsson, he showed his spirit through participating in many class games and enjoyed the interactions between upperclassmen and underclassmen during rallies. "The teams were pretty good and it was a lot of fun to play against the older years and the younger years,” Johnsson said. “I haven't been dressing up that much but I’ve been participating in a lot of the competitions.”

Seniors pull ahead after third Spirit Week rally

Navya Narayanan and Veronica Qiu
October 15, 2025
Junior Eli Kozodoy holds his surfboard and gets ready to show off his outfit.

Juniors rule in second ‘best-dressed’ competition

Navya Narayanan and William Xue
October 14, 2025
Associated Student Body tosses rings into the sophomore class at lunch during the ring toss game at Palo Alto High School's Big Gym. According to junior class president Kai Bunger-Tang, he was looking forward to trying out the ring toss game, which ended up as a success. “I was most excited to try out our new game, which is ring toss, where we toss rings into the class,” Bunger-Tang said. “It was super fun and worked out well.”

Seniors in lead after first Spirit Week rally

Navya Narayanan and Alex Chang
October 13, 2025
Junior Ruby Krupinsky, president of the Live Music Club, promotes her club with a board and candy on Thursday during lunch on the Quad at Club Day. According to Krupinsky, the club’s main goal is to build community through shared concert experiences. “We want to connect people through live music,” Krupinsky said. “Hopefully, we [Live Music Club] can actually end up going to concerts together.”

Club Day showcases fresh student passions

Navya Narayanan and William Xue
September 23, 2025
Concerns grow over Fletcher PE teacher’s return

Concerns grow over Fletcher PE teacher’s return

Navya Narayanan and Mayu Altekar-Okazaki
August 20, 2025
Associated Student Body President Katie Kim gives a welcome speech to the incoming freshmen Wednesday on the Quad at Palo Alto High School. According to Kim, freshmen should branch out beyond their middle school circles and connect with peers from other districts during orientation. “Please be open minded to meeting any new people,” Kim said. “I know there are a lot of Greene, Fletcher and Jane Lathrop Stanford kids, but please be open-minded and meet new people from different districts."

School year starts with orientation

Navya Narayanan, News Editor, Webmaster
August 14, 2025
Palo Alto High School's Class of 2025 celebrates their graduation this afternoon at the Viking Stadium. According to Principal Brent Kline, the graduating class has grown and accomplished much to be proud of. “As I look at you today, graduates, I see students who have grown, not just in knowledge, but in kindness, creativity and courage,” Kline said in his speech.

Class of 2025 turns the tassel

Ava Knapp and Navya Narayanan
June 5, 2025
Nick the Greek offers a spacious and open interior. According to restaurant manager Angie Holguin, the team chose Palo Alto for the city's energy and high speed vibe. “It was [opened] in this location, Palo Alto, specifically because it's more of a suburban location,” Holguin said. “This area is more fast-paced.”

Review: Nick the Greek serves street-style eats

Navya Narayanan and Lise Concolato
May 30, 2025
Math teacher Randolph Mercado helps sophomore Katie McCue with a homework problem. According to Mercado, he is looking forward to being head of the math department and will be open to listen to ideas from both students and staff. “I'm super excited, but I'm also cautious about making sure I do right by the department and the students,” Mercado said.

Mercado steps into math instructional leader role

Navya Narayanan and Mayu Altekar-Okazaki
May 29, 2025
Natalie Docktor, instructional leader, discusses the rules of a math project for her fifth period AB Calculus class. Docktor said that her teaching approach over the years has relied on visual instruction. “I am a very visual person; geometry was one of my favorite types of subjects to teach,” Docktor said. “I love drawing pictures and making connections. I really like the idea of presenting topics in multiple ways and my favorite time is when kids see it and understand it.”

Math Department head retires after making it count

Ava Knapp and Navya Narayanan
May 29, 2025
Recipients of the President's Volunteer Service Award in 2018 gather on the steps of Haymarket Theater for a group photo celebrating their dedication to community service. According to college advisor Sandra Cernobori, the true purpose of service is personal growth and giving back, with recognition like the PVSA being just an added extra. "The recognition is supposed to be the bonus," Cernobori said. "The whole idea of doing service is giving back, learning and growing yourself."

PVSA pause shocks student volunteers

Navya Narayanan, News Editor, Webmaster
May 29, 2025
Junior Santiago Sanchez spikes a volleyball over the net during Paly Play Day, sending the ball flying on the Quad. According to sophomore Mercy Byun, the variety of activities and relaxed atmosphere made the event a fun and refreshing break from the usual school day. "There are a lot of cool activities," Byun said. "I think it's really cool that Paly could set all this up for us and I'm really excited to play the games."

Play Day offers games, connection before finals

Navya Narayanan and Alex Chang
May 23, 2025
Senior Gabe Boudtchenko films students during the schoolwide lip dub. According to junior class Vice President Emily Tang, the lip dub is a great way to bring light to Paly's broad range of activities and student groups. "We [ASB] are super excited to have admin representing, a wide array of publications and also a few sports and clubs," Tang said.

Lip dub showcases diverse campus communities

Navya Narayanan and Mayu Altekar-Okazaki
April 28, 2025
Members of the Paly Poly Club wear vibrant Polynesian attire and perform a traditional dance. According to June Tau, junior and performer, the assembly was a great opportunity to experience other cultures and backgrounds. "It [assembly] brings awareness to respect everyone's other cultures," Tau said. "I liked how we were able to see not only ours today, but other countries as well. It was nice to see that everyone comes from different things and to also respect their background."

Global traditions take center stage at first-ever cultural assembly

Navya Narayanan and Alex Chang
April 4, 2025
Senior Ivan Sandler and his friends work on the mural depicting "SKO VIKES" after school. According to Sandler, he enjoys seeing his friends paint, work together and learn more about art. “It’s really fun to see my friends who have no idea about art or have never done anything like that be so crafty and collaborate in this project that means a lot to me," Sandler said.

‘SKO VIKES’ mural sparks school spirit

Navya Narayanan and Veronica Qiu
April 3, 2025
Soko Soko showcases a sleek, modern design with a wooden sushi bar and Japanese decor. According to restaurant owner Stephanie Zhu, she created a large menu with many options to bring light to all of Japanese cuisine. "I want to bring back all this Japanese cuisine," Zhu said. "We have appetizers, noodles and anything for full families."

Review: Soko Soko delivers homestyle Japanese cooking with a fresh spin

Navya Narayanan and Lise Concolato
March 4, 2025
Viking senior Isaiah Phillips pushes past Cougar defender in the first round of the Central Coast Sectionals Tuesday night in a home game against the Evergreen Valley Cougars. According to Viking assistant coach Jim Bitler, the team's success is driven by their dedication and unity. "The kids that we have at this basketball program [and] their willingness to sacrifice and compete at a real high level and come together as a team," Bitler said. "It’s been really special to watch."

Boys’ basketball defeats Cougars in CCS quarterfinals

Joy Tan and Navya Narayanan
February 27, 2025
Sophomore Ellie Knott maneuvers the ball in the last practice before the first round of the Central Coast Section playoffs, where the Vikings are facing the Soledad High School Aztecs 5 p.m. today at home. According to senior Kaitlyn Lowry, the team has not done well in the first round of CCS in the past, but this year, they have been training extra hard and are hyped for the game. "We're all pretty excited," Lowry said. "We don't have a good track record, really, of making it past the first round. So, we've been training really hard. We haven't really had any off days yet, so we feel pretty prepared."

Preview: Girls soccer set to play Soledad in first round of CCS

Navya Narayanan and Nathan Jiang
February 22, 2025
Former head coach Andy Harader poses with his pink spirited outfit outside the Palo Alto High School tennis courts. According to Harader, he is very proud of players implementing his advice. "To see players inspired and utilize techniques I drilled into them is very gratifying and has given me a sense of pride," Harader said.

Head tennis coach retires after 28 years

Navya Narayanan, News Editor, Webmaster
February 20, 2025
Students from Townley Grammar School in Bexleyheath eat lunch and engage in conversation Wednesday with the Principal's Advisory Committee members at Palo Alto High School. The visitors came to see how schools operate in an environment surrounded by technology. According to Townley Grammar School junior Ayo Thompson, schools in the U.K. are dissimilar to those in the U.S. “The difference is very interesting, and I'm getting a wider perspective on how education is in different parts of the world,” Thompson said.

Girls in STEM from U.K. visit Bay Area

Navya Narayanan and Mayu Altekar-Okazaki
February 18, 2025
Community members gather for the 10th anniversary celebration of the Rinconada Library on Saturday as they listen to Jonathan Hartman, principal architect at Group 4 Architecture, showcasing the remodeling done to the interior of Rinconada Library in 2015. According to Library Services Manager RuthAnn Garcia, this presentation was done to honor the history behind the building. “The architectural presentation will really appeal to those who love the modern updates to historical buildings,” Garcia said. “Rinconada was renovated and renamed 10 years ago, but our ‘Main’ Library opened in 1958.”

Rinconada Library celebrates 10th anniversary

Navya Narayanan and Sophie Zhang
February 11, 2025
Freshman Oscar Varodayan and other Multivariable Calculus advocates hold signs at the Palo Alto Unified School District board meeting last week hoping to persuade board members to add multivariable calculus as a math elective next year. According to Varodayan, this year was the first time he truly enjoyed a math class due to the challenge. “This year was the first year where I fully enjoyed my math class because it was a fully challenging class so thanks to the district for providing me the mechanisms which allowed me to advance," Varodayan said.

New board members support Multivariable Calculus as after-school class

Navya Narayanan, Ava Knapp, and Mayu Altekar-Okazaki
January 31, 2025
Going over a block, senior Emma Lee shoots a 3-pointer as the seniors beat the staff, 25-20, in the annual seniors-versus-staff basketball game at the Winter Rally on Wednesday in the Peery Center. According to Engineering and Computer Science teacher Kathryn Widen, she had fun participating in the game. "I promised my students I would score two points, and I scored two points," Widen said. "It's really fun playing sports with my colleagues and my students, and I hope we do more of these activities."

Seniors triumph over staff in Winter Rally; Prom location revealed

Navya Narayanan and Nathan Jiang
January 30, 2025
Verbatim: Students reflect on birthright citizenship executive order

Verbatim: Students reflect on birthright citizenship executive order

Navya Narayanan and Mayu Altekar-Okazaki
January 28, 2025
Students engage with the Virtual Social Network Club booth during Spring Club day Friday at lunch on the Quad. According to sophomore and President of VSN Jasmine Kwak, this club has big goals for its members. "Our goal is to make it so that there's a project that you need to do and turn in for service hours so you can help the community without feeling too stressed," Kwak said.

New ideas shine at Spring Club Day

Navya Narayanan and Ava Knapp
January 19, 2025
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